2016 San Antonio Spurs

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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San Antonio Spurs (Last Year: 67-15)

2016-17 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Tim Duncan/Boban Marjanovic

PF: LaMarcus Aldridge/Boris Diaw

SF: Kawhi Leonard/Kyle Anderson

SG: Danny Green/Jonathon Simmons

PG: Tony Parker/Patty Mills

NBA Free Agents:

SG-Manu Ginobili (UFA)

PF-David West (UFA)

PF-Matt Bonner (UFA)

SG-Kevin Martin (UFA)

PG-Andre Miller (UFA)

SF-Rasual Butler (UFA)

C-Boban Marjanovic (RFA)

2016-17 Team Salary: Approximately $79.7 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Frontcourt Depth: Assuming Tim Duncan returns for one more season, his storied career with the Spurs is coming to an end. His minutes were limited throughout last season and likely won’t spike any this year. Combine that with David West choosing to opt out of his contract and become a free agent, the Spurs need some depth inside and to ideally add a young body to the mix.

2. Rim Protector: Going hand in hand with the team’s first need is finding a rim protector inside. At this point of his career, Duncan doesn’t bring much shot-blocking presence inside, and Aldridge has never been known for his defensive prowess. Finding a defensive-minded big who can come off the bench would help the franchise as it enters the final year of its dynasty.

3. Bench Scorer: Manu Ginobili opted out of his contract, but should end up re-signing with the Spurs and once again serve as their sixth man. Turning 39 years old this summer and approaching the end of his career, Ginobili doesn’t make the impact he once did. Therefore, San Antonio should look to add a bench scorer like it attempted to do mid-season by signing Kevin Martin, who is also a free agent. Without a whole lot of cap space though, the Spurs might have to go bargain hunting to fill this void.